Designated Survivor season 4: Whose return is in most doubt?

The first thing obviously worth noting within this Designated Survivor season 4 piece is simple: There may not be a season 4! It hasn’t been officially greenlit yet, but through most of the coverage we’ve seen, we do get a sense that there is a reason for hope. There is an interest in telling more stories and we certainly think there are enough loose threads that need to be tied up. What will Tom Kirkman’s first term as elected President look like, and will some of the decisions come back to haunt him?

We’re sure that Kiefer Sutherland will be back for the new season — there’s no reason at all to worry about that! However, there are three characters whose return to the series coming up feels a little more ambiguous. Some of them are for story reasons, while others are due more to scheduling and other factors.

Emily Rhodes – Will she continue to work for Kirkman? Story-wise, her ending in season 3 was ambiguous — she cared deeply about Kirkman and what he stood for and because of that, she’s betrayed and hurt by some of what he did. She thinks that he turned his back on what he stood for and because of that, she could easily opt to walk away … or Kirkman could offer her a lot of cash and/or power in exchange for keeping what he knew about Moss a secret.

Given how fantastic Italia Ricci was in season 3 (especially close to the end of the season) her return to this show feels essential.

Seth Wright – In terms of the story, you gotta expect the character to come back. There was no firm exit for him! The problem is that Kal Penn has an upcoming show on NBC and unless the shows get really creative in their scheduling, it’s hard to imagine him being able to do both full-time. We’ll cross our fingers that at least something more is possible — we just really love this character since he both challenges the press while also giving them respect if need be. He’s what you would want with any White House Press Secretary.

Lorraine Zimmer – She was a stellar addition to season 3 as the campaign manager willing to risk everything for success — including creating so many below-the-belt schemes and using a mole within the Moss campaign. Yet, with Emily getting her arrested at the end of the season (and with the campaign over) we do wonder just how we’re going to be able to see Julie White back — other than maybe as a part of some Congressional testimony a little bit down the road.

Which characters do you want to see back on Designated Survivor season 4? Be sure to let us know right now in the comments

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